WE ARE CLOSED FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH
Don't stop.
What exactly are your plans for Emotion?
-Hello. -Welcome.
Please have a seat.
Thank you.
I'm sorry for coming by during your time off.
No problem.
I have so much time on my hands.
I was happy when you called.
You're here today to discuss bridal lingerie?
Yes.
If you could take a look at this.
One of our customers had this bustier made here, at Emotion.
Yes, Mayu had delivered it to you.
Yes.
Another customer saw this picture
and said she'd like to have one made for herself.
Really?
I'd be happy to make one for her.
-If she can come in sometime-- -Yes, but...
She can't.
Then I can go to her.
Actually, she's now overseas on business
and she won't make it back until the day before the wedding.
And that's not all. The wedding is in a week.
She's in London,
working as a consultant for some famous think tank.
London?
My wife's been recruited by a think tank in London.
Her name is Emi Mizuno.
And the groom's name is Seiran Yoshioka.
MR. SEIRAN YOSHIOKA MS. EMI MIZUNO
I have her measurements from her dress fitting.
She's insisting.
Will you make it for her?
This customer's future husband...
Do you know...
who he is?
I'm sorry.
I met Mr. Yoshioka by coincidence at Mr. Yamazaki's place.
So this order,
he placed it?
No, he didn't say anything. And Emi...
The bride most likely
doesn't know about your relationship with Mr. Yoshioka.
And yet, when she saw the picture,
she said she'd like to wear this bustier for her wedding.
Don't you think this is a miracle?
What kind of face is that?
You met with him? With Seiran?
He says he's getting married.
Married?
Oh, my.
Congratulations.
Of course,
he's at an age when you'd expect this sort of thing to happen.
But I was so surprised.
He looked so good in his suit.
He's become an adult.
Kids grow up, even if left alone.
That's not what I meant.
It's okay.
I really did leave him alone.
There you go again.
You worked hard, even as a mother.
But I'm glad.
If you got to see him,
then I'm glad.
Yes.
So what are you going to do about the bride's bustier?
I don't think I should get involved.
Why not?
I'm glad I got to see him.
But I don't want to step in any deeper.
How long do you plan on holding on to negative memories?
What?
It's bad for Seiran too,
knowing he's got such a gloomy mom somewhere out there.
He won't be able to sleep well!
It's not like I'm going to haunt him.
Holding on to regret is an obsession.
How many years do you think have passed?
Congratulate him openly and send him off.
This is something you can do for him as his mother.
You've been given this opportunity.
Holding on to regret is an obsession.
You're right.
-It's time to let go, isn't it? -That's right.
The story in your heart shouldn't be buried there forever.
It's like holding on to clothes you'll never wear,
and making your closet all moldy as a result.
You're right.
MS. EMI MIZUNO (CONTACT INFO)
I'm going to make it for her.
She's a customer, after all.
SALES STRATEGY SEMINAR DEVELOP NEW PLANS IN FIVE DAYS
This is your time off.
I guess you're more dedicated than I thought.
Ditto.
What about your daughter?
She said that spending three days together is enough.
And your cat?
She's a fickle one.
She won't play with you?
It's better that way.
What do you think? Is it helpful?
E-COMMERCE USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET MORE CUSTOMERS
Maybe not.
Online shopping
doesn't exactly fit with Emotion's custom-made concept.
The same is true with Em's in-person sales.
Although, it would be nice to expand Em's outlet.
Especially since we're getting more customers.
If we can consistently sell out our product, we won't have excess stock.
So we need a shop...
Where we can just sell and sell.
We seem to be on the same page.
Only in matters of business.
It's almost time for the afternoon session.
"Training Sales Staff to Maximize Customer Satisfaction."
I think I'll pass.
I'm going. I paid the full fee. I'm going to all of them!
Then I'll go to this simulation seminar.
That shouldn't make me too sleepy.
See you.
Thank you for joining us today.
Here in room B,
we will discuss training of sales staff to maximize customer satisfaction.
"...MAXIMIZE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION"
That's so annoying.
Why do I have to add a thesis to the senior year project?
Art needs no explanation.
I really don't feel motivated.
MAYU
No, I can't.
What can I create?
I've been thinking.
But looking at your face just now, I saw it!
Maybe if I texted her...
One pair is something,
but three-of-a-kind?
Yeah, I was so surprised.
I was approached and asked to lecture.
You're a top salesperson after all.
Not at all.
I thought you were in New York.
I was. I learned a lot from Mr. Miki.
So you came back and you're now lecturing at a seminar. That's impressive.
And so are both of you.
We're all very diligent.
I've had enough.
Was the simulation seminar boring?
"And what if your business were to open a shop in a commercial district?
Proposing a new kind of retail
that would revitalize the commercial district."
The 300,000 yen prize for the simulation competition is appealing, though.
-There's prize money? -300,000 yen?
FIRST PLACE - 300,000 YEN SECOND PLACE - 100,000 YEN
-You're interested? -I spent a lot of money in New York!
So for this...
We get three days to write a proposal and just have to present it?
It could be easy money.
Yeah, but...
-The judge... -The judge? You know him?
-He's a former coworker. -From the trading company?
We worked together in the fabric import department for a long time.
Then that's good, if you know him well.
Well, I haven't yet repaid the money I borrowed,
so I don't really want to see him.
What? You should pay him back.
Ms. Nakatani, will you pay him back for me?
I have the money with me.
Do it yourself!
He's lecturing too.
You know the organizers, right?
Here's an envelope.
Please.
Well, I don't really mind.
Excuse me, this is...
the money Mr. Saruhashi borrowed from you.
What? And you are?
I'm with Emotion. I'm Ms. Nakatani.
RIN NAKATANI
From Emotion.
I still think it probably looks strange.
I'll go check...
There's no need for you to go.
-Why not? -Because.
I see, you want to show off your young and pretty coworker.
If that were the case, I'd be encouraging you to go,
as the pretty boss.
In any case, we wouldn't want there to be some weird misunderstanding.
Hold on!
You saved me. Thanks!
I'm exhausted from a full day of seminars!
Shall we go eat something?
That sounds good.
I'm hungry.
Hey.
Let's take part...
in that simulation competition.
Let's show him, you know...
your former coworker.
We heard...
the reason why...
you had to borrow money from him.
For Emotion?
That was my fault, wasn't it?
It has nothing to do with you.
Emotion was in financial trouble
because of Story, right?
That's why you borrowed money, right?
It's something I did on my own.
And besides, it's not like I'm holding a grudge against him.
He's a good guy. He lent me money.
He didn't even say anything after I didn't return it.
He's a good guy, right?
Yes, maybe "showing him" wasn't the right way to put it.
But...
I want him to know...
that Emotion is back on its feet
and moving forward.
I want him to know that...
Emotion is a small shop
now trying to expand as a business.
And Jin Saruhashi is playing a key role in bringing about this change.
I want to show him.
Are you okay with never being able to face him again?
And this...
This could be good PR for us.
All the judges work as managers for apparel trading companies.
Even if all we accomplish is putting Emotion's name out there,
I think it's worth it. It's worth a shot.
It would kill some time, I suppose.
It's only three days.
It'll be like a simulation game.
Shall we do it?
She replied!
Thanks for the message, Kaji!
No, no. Thank you.
I said I wanted to make something only I could make, but it's hard.
Yes! She's struggling!
This is my chance to be supportive. I'll give it all I've got!
"Don't worry.
Just giving it shape is already very important."
You're right. Thanks! I'll try.
She smiled! She smiled!
What, what? You want to go somewhere later?
Good luck on writing your thesis!
Okay.
So this guy got married?
Yes, and relatively quickly too!
Well, I knew he had a girlfriend.
You can't control who you fall for.
But looking back now, that was when I first came to Tokyo.
So maybe he just seemed cool to me.
This is delicious!
You're analyzing it very calmly.
After having worked for a while, I finally realized
that it's usually when I'm feeling insecure
that I fall for someone.
That's when I start thinking, "He's so hot!"
Is that so?
If I can get that person to be interested in me,
I could gain some confidence for the time being.
But that's not quite how it works.
Well, no.
But I'm okay now.
I think I'm doing pretty well at work.
That's wonderful.
But be careful.
If you become too confident, you won't be able to fall in love.
-Really? -Is it me you're referring to?
Oh, no.
You heard that?
I finished the base. Will you take a look?
If she lives in London,
she might be more familiar with leavers lace.
But I think going with a clean look
with just the motif on that side could work too.
It's beautiful.
I think Emi would like this motif.
She's really beautiful. Very tall.
I see.
I'll send her pictures.
And let her decide.
I'll let you know as soon as she responds.
-Please do. -Thank you.
Thank you for coming out here.
You have a wonderful job.
Yes.
Your fetish for lace is quite something.
It's a reflection of your ambition from your younger days.
It's a craving.
I had a thirst for beauty.
Money was tight at home.
Life was pretty tough back then.
And yet the young Mayumi
didn't go for food, didn't go for money.
She didn't go for rich men.
She went for beautiful lace.
-It's a real mystery. -I had a young girl's pure heart.
My response to poverty came through glittery, lacey things.
Like dresses for brides and princesses.
I adored them.
I was always drawing pictures,
drawings of princesses.
I drew those too.
It's the power they bring about that makes all the difference.
Those feelings from back then
made me run this far.
Sometimes recklessly.
Thanks for running with me.
The other day,
I went up to the third floor of the building
where we first opened the shop.
You did?
It looked exactly the same.
Brings back memories.
I wonder how everyone's doing.
I'm sure they're doing well.
They've all turned into old hags,
and they're cheerfully cursing you.
I'm just kidding. You already know that.
SIMULATION SEMINAR: PLANNING COMPETITION
INTRODUCTION OF EM PRODUCTS
Here are the copies.
They let you use everything here.
Thank you.
Color copies are free too?
That's thanks to the expensive fees we had to pay.
Okay, shall we try it?
Will you try reading this, Mizuki?
"Women's lingerie may give the impression of being expensive...
NEW RETAIL MODEL PROPOSED BY EM BY EMOTION
...but it's actually a common product to be used daily.
ADDING SPICE TO ORDINARY DAYS
We want consumers to be able to buy it more easily.
For example, when you buy
some bread at a local bakery..."
I really think it would be better if you did this, Ms. Nakatani.
It sounds better coming from you.
-But... -If you say it,
even these pictures look like they're of some high-end bakery in Paris.
When you say it, it just looks like a local bakery.
When you say it, it pisses me off.
In any case, here.
Okay.
I'll just read it for now.
ADDING THE SPICE OF LINGERIE TO YOUR ORDINARY DAY.
For example, when you buy some bread at a local bakery,
if you step a little deeper into the store,
it opens up to a comfortable private space.
At first, it almost looks like a café, but upon closer look,
there are chests, sofas,
dressers and similar furniture.
If you think about it objectively,
it's kind of strange to have lingerie in a bakery.
Of course.
But it wouldn't have any impact if the idea wasn't interesting.
It's not as if it's a real shop.
I think it's a real possibility.
If we collaborate with an existing shop,
it goes with the concept of revitalizing the commercial district.
Perhaps we should make Ms. Nakatani our leader.
-Yes! That sounds great. -What?
Why did you leave the trading company anyway?
It was a major company, you were set for life.
It's true, but...
Just as I was starting my job, we experienced deflation.
So there was a global trend
of favoring quantity and cheap prices over quality.
Yes, luxury brands took a hit.
We therefore had to import cheap fabrics made under terrible labor conditions.
I saw a little too much ugliness.
I have a sensitive soul.
When you say it like that,
I become deaf to any good parts of your story.
But President Nanjo...
Emotion's President Nanjo
would order ridiculously expensive fabrics
one after another.
Fabric made in Italy and France.
In small quantity.
But she never made the compromise of switching to cheaper fabrics.
I can see that.
That's when I thought, "This is for me."
It's things like that...
That's what I really love about Emotion.
The pride.
You were a fan of Emotion, right?
Yes.
I've wanted to be on the creator's side.
Although lately, I've been thinking that sales isn't too bad either.
What? Don't quit!
I won't quit.
After coming to Emotion,
I've rediscovered the meaning of selling while seeing the customer's face.
That's why I want Em to sell more.
Maybe even open a new shop.
I'm sorry, I'm letting my imagination get the better of me.
We're...
on the same page.
It's like we're having a conversation.
It's done. I'm finished!
Yes!
"I'm glad."
Thanks, but...
What's wrong?
I'm conflicted about showing this to the boss.
I don't think the boss will like it.
You really love that color, don't you, boss?
PLANNING COMPETITION PRESENTATION
From this, we propose the shopping district and city planning game
be combined into a new town.
That's the end of the Revise presentation.
Next up is lingerie company Emotion.
We'd like to begin with a description of Emotion,
and of the products we will be selling in this proposal,
from Em by Emotion.
I was so nervous.
Who could've predicted that 30 companies would enter the competition?
You turn white so easily, Mizuki.
I'm glad we made Ms. Nakatani our leader.
I hate public speaking.
I've never done anything like this. It was fun.
We didn't get the 300,000 yen, though.
Let's see, who won?
I think it was Shoyo Corp.
They wanted to set up their duty-free counter in the district.
That one! I thought that was good too.
And us?
Honorable Mention! 20,000 yen!
20,000 yen for three whole days of work.
Just 20,000 yen!
It's like sweatshop wages.
We worked pretty hard on it.
We are very diligent.
But your former coworker
gave us a score of four out of five.
JUDGE'S NAME - SCORE
The others gave out a score of three at most.
A congratulatory gift?
To a revived Emotion?
Maybe,
but I'm sure he no longer thinks...
that you're just some women's lingerie shop employee.
Now you can go out for drinks with him!
Yes. He's a good guy after all.
Yeah, it was really fun.
I know!
The three of us should go out for drinks.
We've got 20,000 yen.
We can go to a pretty nice place!
That's true, we might as well drink!
But...
this proposal,
can't we use it in real life?
Why don't we propose it to President Nanjo?
For Em's new shop.
It's beautiful!
I'm glad I finished it in time.
I'm sure Emi will love it.
-It's "something blue". -Yes.
A happiness charm.
I was going to add a blue garter belt,
but maybe that's not what the bride would want.
It's cute, and wonderful.
And it's indigo, like Mr. Yoshioka.
-I'm sorry. -No.
But this...
This is simply "something blue".
I'll let them know.
Well...
Thank you for delivering it in person.
No.
Well...
I came here because...
Well...
Well, excuse me.
Please wait!
The bouquet will look something like this.
The ceremony...
-is in two days? -Yes.
I'm going to start my own family.
So please don't worry.
I've never been alone.
I'm glad I got to see you.
I wish I could've seen it, too.
It was pretty.
It was beautiful.
I'm sure it was.
The summer break is over.
It was a nice break.
Yes, it was.
I experienced something new.
Really? What?
For the first time,
I made something for myself.
That bustier...
as soon as I put the first stitch in,
that thing you said,
my obsession of holding on to regret...
seemed to vanish from here.
After that,
it wasn't for my son,
nor my son's future wife,
but for me.
I know,
it wasn't the right thing to do.
But the process of making it saved me.
Now I can move forward.
Don't hold back, although I know you love the boss.
This has nothing to do with love.
Being rejected by someone you respect is scary.
But...
But respecting someone and doing as you're told
are two different things.
Thanks. I feel braver.
I gained weight. I gained weight.
-Didn't I gain weight? -Did you?
You're glowing, as if you got younger!
Really?
I think you lost weight.
-Did I? -Tough time with your thesis?
I'm not done yet.
That's no good! What have you been doing?
Well, I had a lot on my mind.
What? What's going on?
I... I'll go clean the windows!
-I took down the notice. -Thank you.
What? What's that?
Nothing.
Good morning.
It's chilly today.
Good morning!
I'm glad everyone's looking well.
Did you enjoy your break?
Yes, it was a lot of fun.
-I learned a lot. -I'm glad.
-Well-- -I know this is sudden,
but I have something to say.
Don't worry, It's nothing serious.
It's about the upcoming trunk show in March.
Last year, we put on a big show.
And both Em and Emotion
were able to make great progress.
As a result, we are selling well.
With the addition of Ms. Nakatani,
our business operations have become smoother.
Thank you.
Emotion has stepped up.
What I'd wished for 30 years ago,
and wasn't able to accomplish,
has finally come to be.
This remarkable growth
didn't happen thanks to me alone,
but thanks to everyone here.
Thank you.
What is this? It's very weird.
Yes, what's with you all of a sudden?
Well, I just had the opportunity to look back at my own work.
It made me think...
about everything that's happened.
Well, yes.
It made me realize I need to be thankful,
and also,
that I'd like to get back to my roots.
I want to go back to my roots...
because we've grown.
Going back to your roots sounds good.
Returning to one's origins?
I think that's important.
If we try to grow more radically,
or challenge ourselves with something new, it may be too forced.
I want to protect Emotion and keep it as it is now.
So in March, we'll have the trunk show here as always.
What about the theme? Have you chosen one?
Yes.
The theme for this fall/winter season will be "Elegance".
"Elegance" is Emotion's roots.
Grace,
refinement,
silk and lace...
Oh...
The sensitive beauty of stitching.
That is Emotion's soul.
Well!
What's wrong?
I'd like to propose something.
Why so suddenly?
-We're talking about our new outlook-- -Boss.
There's something I'd like to show you.
THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.